tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.comments2013-04-06T13:53:13.445+01:00From Oedipus to Samuel L. Jackson's WalletTheTelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.comBlogger903125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-36167454109195074642013-04-06T13:53:13.445+01:002013-04-06T13:53:13.445+01:00In a strange turn of events, I decided to see what...In a strange turn of events, I decided to see what was happening on this blog these days and read this. While I&#39;m sad, I guess it makes sense for it to end. For my own part, my reasons for not contributing so much was that I wasn&#39;t entirely sure what was appropriate to post, I almost felt a little like someone who&#39;d come late to a party and was trying to figure out the social etiquette&#39;s of jumping into a conversation, or eight. I also felt like I&#39;d come dressed as a rabbit to a black tie dinner, but that&#39;s beside the point. Another part was an internal struggle with whether anything I had to offer would be of any interest to anyone. I guess from your description the answer to both those things was, whatever and whenever... if that even makes sense. I realise that this post is over a year old, so this may get lost, but for what it&#39;s worth, I enjoyed just being a small part of something that was so interesting and strangely social in it&#39;s time.Andy Wotherspoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17081411660511251908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-16383259264664288132012-01-30T10:47:02.538+00:002012-01-30T10:47:02.538+00:00Sorry to read this but already following Some Like...Sorry to read this but already following Some Like It Hot Fuzz. Looking forward to continued reading over there. Good luck!Film Intelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05696602364349746693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-36043198408289659792011-12-02T06:58:44.802+00:002011-12-02T06:58:44.802+00:00Hah, I knew checking this blog once a week would e...Hah, I knew checking this blog once a week would eventually bring results. Glad you&#39;re still around, and while this comment itself is quite late, let it be known that I will be reading all your reviews (even if I never have anything worthwhile to say about them, which is a fault on me and not you).RelaxingDragon1https://www.blogger.com/profile/08317545960472914996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-39312089361911841302011-05-15T17:24:10.646+01:002011-05-15T17:24:10.646+01:00Of those that I&#39;ve seen from this list, I&#39;...Of those that I&#39;ve seen from this list, I&#39;m pretty much entirely with you.<br /><br />I don&#39;t like NIGHTWATCH or DAYWATCH (Bekmambetov managed to ruin two perfectly decent books) and WANTED didn&#39;t break that streak. It&#39;s unfocussed and messy and the narration is as un-needed and overly explanatory as it often is in other, better, films. I&#39;ve never watched McAvoy in a film without feeling a slight twinge of annoyance. I can&#39;t explain this through any degree of logical extrapolation. <br /><br />U.S. MARSHALS is absolutely the kind of quality action thriller it needs to be. I&#39;ve watched THE FUGITIVE fairly recently and it has a third act dip where MARSHALS keeps going. They might be closer in terms of quality than a lot of people would want to believe.<br /><br />THE GAME is the only rating I&#39;d perhaps quibble with (it&#39;s under-appreciated and the mastery of keeping you on wobbly footing until the very final frames shouldn&#39;t be underestimated) and in terms of DAWN OF THE DEAD: it&#39;s fashionable to knock Zack Snyder but it&#39;s difficult to take this away from him - how many other horror remakes can you call &#39;pleasing and entertaining&#39;.<br /><br />MARY POPPINS is ageless brilliance.Film Intelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05696602364349746693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-71274850050333801302010-12-23T12:51:11.563+00:002010-12-23T12:51:11.563+00:00This is actually kinda fun. I feel a pub-quiz-roun...This is actually kinda fun. I feel a pub-quiz-round theme appearing...TheTelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-47013051757785222692010-12-23T12:46:29.000+00:002010-12-23T12:46:29.000+00:00Multiple stories.
Hugh Grant dances, Emma weeps.
S...Multiple stories.<br />Hugh Grant dances, Emma weeps.<br />Sweet, or just sickly?TheTelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-43402527188394252132010-12-23T12:34:26.136+00:002010-12-23T12:34:26.136+00:00Me likey.
If I come up with any more I will of co...Me likey.<br /><br />If I come up with any more I will of course share them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-31393304662711425002010-12-23T12:27:34.768+00:002010-12-23T12:27:34.768+00:00Bruce walks through glass, fire.
Yippi-kay-yay, mo...Bruce walks through glass, fire.<br />Yippi-kay-yay, mother fu-<br />Snow falls. Rickman too.TheTelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-17908723903661186632010-11-24T09:30:09.213+00:002010-11-24T09:30:09.213+00:00New entry at number 11:
Smells Like Rockin&#39; R...New entry at number 11:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNUTYHJrutw" rel="nofollow">Smells Like Rockin&#39; Robin</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-80721351404874084522009-12-12T22:34:23.367+00:002009-12-12T22:34:23.367+00:00Nice. I have never heard that before.
It reminds ...Nice. I have never heard that before.<br /><br />It reminds me of this:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh1CI5sOh7AHanspanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01077944659760174733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-25040485441948217262009-11-19T22:43:20.939+00:002009-11-19T22:43:20.939+00:00You are not a wuss. The Lion King is brutal.You are not a wuss. The Lion King is brutal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-42498094481552535772009-11-18T15:06:38.066+00:002009-11-18T15:06:38.066+00:00There aren&#39;t any spoilers, I checked :)
When ...There aren&#39;t any spoilers, I checked :)<br /><br />When you say non-Vimes-centric books, do you mean the more recent ones or across the series as a whole? Because I certainly think earlier books about the witches, wizards and Death more than hold their own against the Watch series.<br /><br />I loved Night Watch overall, but felt the scenario at the beginning to get Vimes back in time was somewhat contrived.<br /><br />Monstrous Regiment... just wasn&#39;t funny. And it was boring. And overly long. And oh my god, yet <i>another</i> of them is a woman in disguise! It just degenerated into silliness. I can&#39;t remember much about the plot but was so actively bored by it that I don&#39;t really want to go back an re-read it. I enjoyed it even less than the Moist von Lipwig ones. And I struggled to finish both it and them.Hanspanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01077944659760174733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-52515745120204129492009-11-18T12:28:24.576+00:002009-11-18T12:28:24.576+00:00I haven&#39;t read your whole post, in case of spo...I haven&#39;t read your whole post, in case of spoilers (since I haven&#39;t read Nation yet), but I&#39;d be interested to know what you found so hellish about Monstrous Regiment - I found it to be less coherent than Pratchett&#39;s usual fare, but not unenjoyable. None of the non-Vimes-centric books are brilliant, but I don&#39;t think I&#39;d call them disasters.<br /><br />Also, Night Watch = best book ever.TheTelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-63026009806746612172009-11-16T12:00:19.948+00:002009-11-16T12:00:19.948+00:00Cheers for the responses, dude - my thoughts are a...Cheers for the responses, dude - my thoughts are as follows :D<br /><br /><i>&quot;...it seemed a pretty sound way of putting people who have never experienced that kind of discrimination into a position that in some way emulates that experience.&quot;</i><br /><br />But why are we trying to emulate that experience? What does the exercise achieve? If the whole point is to give the blue-eyed people a particular insight, then fair enough, but I couldn&#39;t see any indication of any insight achieved or views changed, either in the British experiment, or any of the others. If this insight is useful, then can we use it in other areas? Can we get people together and have them take turns to gang up on and beat the shit out of one another because it will give the people who were beaten up an insight into what it is like to be beaten up?<br /><br /><i>&quot;I got the impression that she&#39;s just that kind of person&quot;</i><br /><br />Maybe so, but I think my main point was that either she wasn&#39;t playing a role (and hence genuinely doesn&#39;t like people with blue eyes), or she was playing a role during the exercise. This meant that when she was arguing with the blue-eyed group, there was no way of telling whether she was just trying to belittle them as part of the exercise, or was actually engaging in argument. In the &quot;victim blaming&quot; bit, for example - even though the blue-eyed woman immediately corrected herself, Elliott picked up on the mistake and berated her for it, rather than addressing the actual question that was asked.<br /><br /><i>&quot;Not sure what your point is here. I&#39;d guess that most people who the programme is aimed at would have these things defined for themselves already.&quot;</i><br /><br />Well, Elliott is apparently using a definition that paints most people as racist. I&#39;m not sure my definition would do the same, and so I&#39;d be interested to see whether there are any differences between our interpretation of the word before she starts bandying it around.<br /><br /><i>&quot;I honestly can&#39;t remember whether she said this or not&quot;</i><br /><br />It&#39;s about 12:07, and the exact phrase she uses is: <i>&quot;some of us white folks would rather not see white folks verbally, psychologically, mentally and emotionally abused for a few minutes&quot;</i>. It seems to me that she is putting a racial motivation on the guy&#39;s actions for which she has no evidence.<br /><br /><i>&quot;I had little sympathy for him. I realise we&#39;re only being shown an edited version of the full experiment, but he came across as a naive and ignorant person.&quot;</i><br /><br />Why did he come across to you as naive and ignorant? He couldn&#39;t understand how what he was being asked to do fitted with his ethos, so he left. That seems like the kind of behaviour that would be described as desirable in a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment" rel="nofollow">Milgram Experiment</a>.<br /><br /><i>&quot;Obviously my knowledge of the US school system is somewhat limited, but I took it to mean that whilst they may not be actively racist, the way that history is taught in the US moulds people into a certain way of thinking without them even knowing.&quot;</i><br /><br />I took it to meant that too, but since I&#39;ve not heard this point of view from anyone else, I&#39;d be interested to hear some more justification/evidence from her before I accept it.<br /><br /><i>&quot;Isn&#39;t racism just a specific form of bullying? I would categorically disagree that the exercise had &quot;no reason behind it&quot; because of that fact.&quot;</i><br /><br />Goes back to my first response at the top - what was the reason?<br /><br /><i>&quot;I can&#39;t help but feel that you&#39;re expecting a little too much from what is essentially a TV programme made for mainstream consumption. The things you want all seem to fit more into the idea of an essay, which was not what I went into the programme expecting.&quot;</i><br /><br />Maybe. I get frustrated with a lot of programmes these days because they seem so light on evidence/explanation, but maybe I&#39;m just expecting too much of a medium primarily designed for entertainment.TheTelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-23249804433527186552009-11-13T19:11:01.485+00:002009-11-13T19:11:01.485+00:00Interesting that you had such a contrasting respon...Interesting that you had such a contrasting response to the show. Some replies to a few things you&#39;ve said:<br /><br /><i>&quot;I don&#39;t really understand what the point of the exercise was. If it was to show that people who are put into a position where everyone around them is working against them, and in which they cannot prosper no matter what they do will react in a particular way, then fair enough, but to have any application to the real world, there needs to be some evidence that the scenario matches the real world in some way, and I didn&#39;t see any of that evidence.&quot;</i><br /><br />From what I know of things such as apartheid in South Africa and what black people went through (and some still go through) in the USA, it seemed a pretty sound way of putting people who have never experienced that kind of discrimination into a position that in some way emulates that experience. You can&#39;t choose your skin colour; you can&#39;t choose your eye colour.<br /><br /><i>&quot;It was often confusing as to whether Elliott was playing a role (as she was, presumably, when making personal comments about the blue-eyed group) and when she was being herself and trying to make sensible points.&quot;</i><br /><br />I kind of agree here, but I got the impression that she&#39;s just that kind of person - humourless, hard-edged and defensive.<br /><br /><i>&quot;Despite being an exercise based around discrimination (and mostly centred on racism), there were no definitions given on what the term was taken as meaning.&quot;</i><br /><br />Not sure what your point is here. I&#39;d guess that most people who the programme is aimed at would have these things defined for themselves already.<br /><br /><i>&quot;When one participant left the exercise, Elliott said something like &quot;White people often don&#39;t like seeing other white people put in this kind of position.&quot;, which seemed to imply a racial motivation to the leaving for which she had no evidence.</i><br />I honestly can&#39;t remember whether she said this or not, but if you&#39;re talking about the man who left at the start who said he&#39;d rather be on the side of the victim than the aggressor, I had little sympathy for him. I realise we&#39;re only being shown an edited version of the full experiment, but he came across as a naive and ignorant person.<br /><br /><i>&quot;In the (stupidly short) interview at the end, she said that everyone who had gone through the (American) school system was racist. Despite being the most interesting point she made during the programme, she was not asked to back it up at all, and it was essentially ignored.&quot;</i><br /><br />I agree that the interview should have been given more than the couple of minutes it received at the end of the programme, but I can see where Elliott&#39;s coming from. Obviously my knowledge of the US school system is somewhat limited, but I took it to mean that whilst they may not be actively racist, the way that history is taught in the US moulds people into a certain way of thinking without them even knowing.<br /><br /><i>&quot;The whole thing seemed like a bullying session with no reason behind it. One set of people were bullied by another set in order to prove that people who are bullied feel bad.&quot;</i><br /><br />Isn&#39;t racism just a specific form of bullying? I would categorically disagree that the exercise had &quot;no reason behind it&quot; because of that fact.<br /><br />It seems to me that most of your issues come not from the exercise itself, but the way the programme was made and edited. I agree that some parts felt cut short, particularly the interview, and I would happily have watched a programme on the exercise that was twice as long, which may have also given more room for things such as definitions and evidence and ultimately felt more successful as a programme. I can&#39;t help but feel that you&#39;re expecting a little too much from what is essentially a TV programme made for mainstream consumption. The things you want all seem to fit more into the idea of an essay, which was not what I went into the programme expecting. I didn&#39;t get what I was expecting to see, but for all its flaws (and there are some) I still stand by my appreciation for the exercise it showed and Elliott&#39;s methods.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-82390836273375017752009-11-13T17:37:45.350+00:002009-11-13T17:37:45.350+00:00Honestly, the programme annoyed me. I might write ...Honestly, the programme annoyed me. I might write something more florid later, but I&#39;ll just bullet point some of my first thoughts:<br /><br />- I don&#39;t really understand what the point of the exercise was. If it was to show that people who are put into a position where everyone around them is working against them, and in which they cannot prosper no matter what they do will react in a particular way, then fair enough, but to have any application to the real world, there needs to be some evidence that the scenario matches the real world in some way, and I didn&#39;t see any of that evidence.<br /><br />- It was often confusing as to whether Elliott was playing a role (as she was, presumably, when making personal comments about the blue-eyed group) and when she was being herself and trying to make sensible points.<br /><br />- Despite being an exercise based around discrimination (and mostly centred on racism), there were no definitions given on what the term was taken as meaning.<br /><br />- When one participant left the exercise, Elliott said something like &quot;White people often don&#39;t like seeing other white people put in this kind of position.&quot;, which seemed to imply a racial motivation to the leaving for which she had no evidence.<br /><br />- In the (stupidly short) interview at the end, she said that everyone who had gone through the (American) school system was racist. Despite being the most interesting point she made during the programme, she was not asked to back it up at all, and it was essentially ignored.<br /><br />- The whole thing seemed like a bullying session with no reason behind it. One set of people were bullied by another set in order to prove that people who are bullied feel bad.<br /><br />I&#39;d love to have a proper discussion about the show at some point, whether on here or in person, since I feel like there&#39;s a lot to be said :)TheTelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-5651067721833387332009-11-06T19:00:23.018+00:002009-11-06T19:00:23.018+00:00I don&#39;t I&#39;m afraid... my mouth tastes just...I don&#39;t I&#39;m afraid... my mouth tastes just fine thanks.Hanspanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01077944659760174733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-27010061958536959592009-11-04T20:50:40.845+00:002009-11-04T20:50:40.845+00:00Don&#39;t try to make this about me. It&#39;s abou...Don&#39;t try to make this about me. It&#39;s about you and that bitter taste in your mouth. You know the one I mean. ;o)TheTelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-88254715974086796942009-11-04T20:44:26.945+00:002009-11-04T20:44:26.945+00:00As Dr Samuel Johnson may once have said &quot;When...As Dr Samuel Johnson may once have said &quot;When a man is tired of reading xkcd regularly, he is tired of life.&quot;<br /><br />Or, ya know, not.Hanspanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01077944659760174733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-44982644021468843752009-11-04T20:43:30.146+00:002009-11-04T20:43:30.146+00:00Since without even trying I out-posted Andy and Ma...Since without even trying I out-posted Andy and Martin and Joe and was only two posts behind James at the close of play, I think I can happily say to you: swivel.<br /><br />I notice attempting to take part and losing hasn&#39;t led to you getting into medical school or curing cancer. so please dismount from your high horse before I unseat you myself :PHanspanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01077944659760174733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-70171052554055609212009-11-03T23:07:06.323+00:002009-11-03T23:07:06.323+00:00And I maintain that failing to even try is the wor...And I maintain that failing to even try is the worst kind of failure. It&#39;s like that time you failed to get into medical school. Or that time you failed to cure cancer.<br /><br />Basically we&#39;re all very disappointed with you, Hannah...TheTelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-53644219332869824002009-11-03T19:59:50.869+00:002009-11-03T19:59:50.869+00:00That is indeed awesome. I&#39;d love to see one fo...That is indeed awesome. I&#39;d love to see one for the Back To The Future trilogy.<br /><br />I really need to start reading xkcd regulary again. And indeed, all the other webcomics I used to read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-87167542382060036502009-11-03T19:01:13.586+00:002009-11-03T19:01:13.586+00:00I maintain that as I didn&#39;t try to take part, ...I maintain that as I didn&#39;t try to take part, I didn&#39;t fail to complete it. Whereas Andy and James actually did...Hanspanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01077944659760174733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-80783026301617877692009-11-03T09:23:06.745+00:002009-11-03T09:23:06.745+00:00&quot;Incidentally, would you still be comfortable...<i>&quot;Incidentally, would you still be comfortable wearing the stained jeans if the stain was, say, over the crotch? Or if it wasn&#39;t an ink stain but bolognese sauce instead?&quot;</i><br /><br />Yes on both counts, I think, assuming the bolognese sauce was a stain that had survived a wash, rather than actual wet bolognese sauce. I might draw the line there.<br /><br />Admittedly, in the past I have stopped wearing khakis with a bleach stain on the crotch, but I maintain that it was impossible for anyone to look at them without making impure assumptions, and as such they were regretfully retired.TheTelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507242165120640932.post-53155964064378105902009-11-03T09:17:31.685+00:002009-11-03T09:17:31.685+00:00As does everyone else who failed. Luckily, as I fa...As does everyone else who failed. Luckily, as I failed the least badly, I&#39;m head slave. The rest of you are screwed.TheTelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10726790253029374308noreply@blogger.com